Boats

Grady-White Boats: Epic Vancouver Island Adventure

We rendezvous with the Northwest Grady-White Club during their 16-day, 700-mile circumnavigation of Vancouver Island

By Jim Hendricks

Updated: September 8, 2016

Boating joined the Northwest Grady-White Owners Club at Walters Cove Resort for a few days of fishing about halfway through an epic circumnavigation of Canada’s Vancouver Island.

Walters Cove Resort on Vancouver Island

Walters Cove Resort on Kyuquot Island on the remote and rugged northern coast of Vancouver Island played host to the Northwest Grady-White Club. Club members docked their boats and lodged in this picturesque setting for a few days, where Boating Magazine and Grady-White staffers had a chance a to rendezvous with them via float plane and fish the nearby rich the Pacific waters. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Epic Adventure: Circumnavigating Vancouver Island

With a roomy cabin and enclosed bridge deck, the Express 330 is the boat of choice among many members of the Northwest Grady-White Club for long-range cruising. Here, staffers from Walters Cove Resort assist club member Tom Schadt while docking his 330, Knot at Anchor. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Cruising Vancouver Island with Grady-White Boats

Walters Cove Resort expanded its dock space to accommodate the fleet of Grady-White boats that stopped over during the Northwest Grady-White Club’s circumnavigation of the Vancouver Island. While some members roomed at the resort, others slept aboard their boats. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Vancouver Island’s Treacherous Coast

The Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island is a minefield of rocky islands and reefs. Even in good weather, navigating these waters requires constant vigilance. Throw in wind, waves and fog, and the stakes go up exponentially. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Northwest Grady-White Club’s Round the Rock Cruise

During the 16-day, 700-mile circumnavigation of Canada’s Vancouver Island, an event known as “Round the Rock,” members of the Northwest Grady-White Club had to account for a wide range factors, including the strong currents that sweep the island’s coast. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Members of the Northwest Grady-White Club love to fish.

Catching King Salmon Off Vancouver Island

For members of the Northwest Grady-White Club like Larry Post, fishing for king salmon is a passion, and long-range cruising gives them a chance to catch these prized gamefish in remote waters. As Larry’s wife, J’Anna Post, puts it, “It’s all about fishing.” Husband and wife fish and cruise together in their 330 Express, Sakana. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Vancouver Island: Salmon Central

Rob Powers is another Northwest Grady-White Club member who loves to fish. His Grady-White Express 330, Island Time, is fully outfitted with downriggers and electronics for catching salmon and other Pacific gamefish. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Bottomfish Bonanza

When salmon aren’t biting off Vancouver Island, anglers can fish the bottom for tasty species such as lingcod. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Arrowtooth Flounder

Members of the Northwest Grady-White Club targeted a variety of bottomfish, such as Pacific halibut, and sometimes pulled in a surprise such as this arrowtooth flounder, named for its formidable set of needle-sharp teeth. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Rockfish Fun Off Vancouver Island

Northwest Grady-White Club member Larry Post shows off a big yelloweye rockfish, one of several species of tasty rockfish available to anglers fishing off Canada’s Vancouver Island. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Vancouver Island: Super, Natural Beauty

The protected waters of Vancouver Island offer awe-inspiring scenery. Members of the Northwest Grady-White Club enjoyed such natural beauty throughout their 16-day cruise around this massive island. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Pacific Cruiser: Grady-White Express 330

Powered by twin Yamaha F350 outboards, the Grady-White Express 330 offers a host of cruising and fishing features that make it ideal for long-range cruising in the Pacific Northwest. Its SeaV² hull smooths the ride in the choppy seas encountered along the Pacific side of Canada’s Vancouver Island. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Amazing Eagle

Members of the Kyuqout first-nation possess a special bond with nature. Here, Kyuquot band member Shawn Hanson whistles in his bald eagle to grab a piece of fresh fish from atop an outboard. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Evening at Walters Cove Resort

Summer evenings are a magical time in the protected waters of Kyuquot Island, giving members of the Northwest Grady-White Club a chance to reflect on the day, enjoy a special beverage or two, and watch the sunset from the deck of Walters Cove Resort Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Pacific Swells Off Vancouver Island

The Grady-White Express 330 proved ideal for tackling the swells and chop of the Pacific Ocean off Vancouver Island. The SeaV² hull cut cleanly through the waves en route to the salmon fishing grounds, which were 12 miles off Kyuquot Island during our trip. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Fly In or Boat In

There are only two ways to get to Walters Cove Resort on Kyuquot Island. You either boat in, as did members of the Northwest Grady-White Club, or you fly in on a float plane, as did staffers from Boating Magazine and Grady-White. Float planes use the same docks as the boats. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Fishing Deep for Salmon

Downriggers were an essential tool for catching salmon during our visit to Kyuquot Sound with the Northwest Grady-White Club. Salmon were feeding as deep as 200 feet below the surface, and downriggers allowed anglers to effectively present trolling baits at such depths. Larry Post shows off the results. Jim Hendricks / Boating Magazine

Cozy Helm Enclosure

Grady-White Boats offers three hardtop choices for the Express 330, but the hardtop with a full windshield and safety glass enclosures on both side, as seen here on Erwin Dow’s Seeker (foreground) and Tom Schadt’s Knot at Anchor (background), is particularly well suited for cruising and fishing the cooler climes of the Pacific Northwest. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Proud Grady-White Anglers

Grady-White factory personnel Gwen Edwards (left) and Shelley Tubaugh show off part of the days catch enjoyed while fishing aboard Rob Powers’ Express 330, Island Time. Bill Doster / Boating Magazine

Adventurous Members of the Northwest Grady-White Club

Grady-White Advocates

Members of the Northwest Grady-White Club pose with Grady-White staffers for a group shot with their boats before departing Walters Cove Resort on Kyuquot Island and continuing their 700-mile circumnavigation of Canada’s Vancouver Island — the event the club calls “Round the Rock.” Bill Doster / Boating Magazine